


Let's go to Yomiuriland!

by edensgarden



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Amusement Parks, Comedy, Crack, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Reader-Insert, special summer collab
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:46:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25442611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensgarden/pseuds/edensgarden
Summary: With the national qualifiers right around the corner, you decide a visit to the amusement park is in order.
Relationships: Goshiki Tsutomu/Reader, Kawanishi Taichi/Reader, Oohira Reon/Reader, Semi Eita/Reader, Shirabu Kenjirou/Reader, Shiratorizawa Academy Volleyball Club/Reader, Tendou Satori/Reader, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader, Yamagata Hayato/Reader
Comments: 44
Kudos: 295





	Let's go to Yomiuriland!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys!  
> The time has come! It is August 8th! It is 5PM Central European Time!  
> The special summer collab for [Managing the Cat's Den](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24131674/chapters/58100710) is now officially up! It has been such an honor to do this collab with both [mooshua](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mooshua/pseuds/mooshua) and [akasuns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/akasuns/pseuds/akasuns). We've been plotting behind your backs with evil cackles on how we best wanted to surprise you guys and simultaneously thank you for all the love and support our stories have been receiving. So we decided to switch things up and write for each other's teams!
> 
> You can find mooshua's story for Seijoh [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25751509), and the one for Nekoma by akasuns right [here.](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25767865)  
> Enjoy! <3

One of the many great things about being part of the volleyball club from the Shiratorizawa Academy was the funding. The many supporters, who would donate and sponsor the club, would also throw in a couple hundred yen for the students to spend during their down-time.

You had been adamant on not spending the little bit that remained after subtracting the fix costs, much to Tendō’s dismay, who wanted to do nothing more than indulge in some ice cream after practice. But the very same redhead that had been crying about you being a stingy manager was the very same one, who was currently singing praises from beside you.

“Ah, (Name)-chan, this was such a good idea!” He chirped as he wiggled in his seat like an excited little child, “I can’t wait, I can’t wait! Hey hey, Wakatoshi-kun, which ride should we go on first?”

“I am not sure. Which one would you like to go on first?” Ushijima asked back, his voice as monotone as ever.

“It’s the first time we’re going to an amusement park together.“ Shirabu mused as he looked out the window of the train, “How come you chose this one, (Surname)-san?”

You tore your gaze from the window to meet his eyes, “I’ve read great reviews about this place online. There’s also a few videos of foreigners, who came and tried out a bunch of different rides. I thought you guys would enjoy this place.” You glanced at Tendō, who was talking Ushijima’s ear off about a certain ride he couldn’t wait to jump on.

“Mh, I’ve heard good things about this park too.” Yamagata chimed in from behind, leaning down over your seat to join the conversation, “My cousin recently came here with his girlfriend. He said it looks magical at night.”

“Magical?” Goshiki asked, his mahogany eyes finding yours as a billion scenarios with the two of you walking hand-in-hand through the park filled his mind. He smiled.

You smiled back, completely unaware of what was transpiring in the first year’s head.

“How much more until we’re there?” This was Kawanishi asking.

Ushijima peered at his watch and responded, “We should be in Shinjuku in an hour.”

“Ah! It’s near Shinjuku?!” Tendō raised his voice, earning him a disgruntled look from his junior Shirabu.

“You haven’t checked where we’re going, Tendō-san?”

“Nah! I trust (Name)-chan with my life!”

“Well… I… quite frankly have nothing to respond to that claim.”

You snorted, turning to place your elbow on the windowsill to rest your chin in your palm. You were honestly just so relieved to see them all getting along and looking forward to this trip.

The last few practice sessions had been rough enough already and taking a toll on the boys, but now with the national qualifiers around the corner, they had been even more on edge. Even Reon, who was as calm as a statue on every other day was starting to get jittery, asking you to record his spikes and assess his form more often than usual.

You were convinced today was going to be a good day.

You were convinced that today, the boys would get to recharge and go back to Sendai with renewed vigor and energy to blast through ten practice matches in one go.

ღღღ

“Alright, remember to keep this ticket with you at all times, okay? If you lose this, you have to take the stairs back down tonight.”

“(Name)-chan, why can’t we take the stairs up now? Wouldn’t that be exciting? Walking up the mountain to the park!”

“You’re free to hike up if you want to. I actually care about my legs and want to enjoy myself today.” You shrugged as you stepped into the gondola, thanking the lady, who helped you inside, “See you later- “

“(Name)-chan! That’s mean! Wait up! I’m coming too!” Tendō jumped in beside you, seating himself next to you and pressing his hands against the glass windows, “Woah! We get to ride up a gondola? How fancy…”

“If I remember correctly there’s no other way to enter the park – it’s either the stairs up the mountain or the gondola.” Shirabu commented as he seated himself across from you, turning his fanny pack towards his stomach.

“That’s right.” You nodded.

Ushijima took his place next to Shirabu, much to Goshiki’s dismay, who had to stay back to take the next gondola with the other remaining four guys. He watched silently as Tendō blossomed into a poppy of excited chattering.

The gondola slowly started to move, up through the vast array of pine trees, the scent of the leaves lightly drifting through the opening from the window. You huddled closer towards to the edge, peeking outside, watching in awe as the forest grew smaller, leaving a pool of green beneath you.

“Ah. It seems we are riding right through this roller coaster.” Ushijima mentioned.

You turned. He was right. The gondola was riding right through one of the loops, a train filled with screaming people whizzing past you and into the forest, only to appear as a blob a bit further and then to disappear again.

You watched amazed at the length of the ride, how it curled and twisted, disappeared in the woods and reappeared up higher. 

Tendō seemed to agree, his hair perking up in joy, “That’s _Bandit_! I really really wanna ride it! Will you join me, (Name)-chan? What about you, Wakatoshi-kun?”

“Um. I’m still here too.” Shirabu coughed uncomfortably.

“It’s 51 meters tall.“ Tendō fawned, completely disregarding the offended look the second year sent him. “And it flies 109 kilometers per hour. The longest ride of the entire park, I have to ride this one!”

“I thought you didn’t know anything about this park, Tendō?” You asked with a raised brow.

You should have expected his answer. You still sighed when he responded.

“I only know about the relevant things, (Name)-chan.”

In the other gondola a bit further away from you, Goshiki was silent, his lips curved into a pout. He kept his eyes trained on the ground, even when Reon and Yamagata asked him if he was alright, mistaking his silence for a fear of heights.

Semi glanced at Goshiki and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair, his ears perking up lightly as an onslaught of terrified and gleeful screams ran through the air. They simultaneously turned towards the window, even Goshiki lifting his dejected head curiously.

A train whizzed by right beside them, curving sideways in incredible speed, right through the green leaves. Faces ripped in smiles, cheeks blown back from the wind emerged from the trees, only to disappear a second later in a blanket of darkness.

“Holy crap!” Yamagata exclaimed with a wild grin, “That looks awesome!”

“Yeah. It really does look like fun.” Reon nodded with a small smile of his own.

Goshiki gulped, already feeling the insides of his stomach clench at the thought of riding that. He remained quiet, but spoke up quickly again, his voice reminiscent of a tantrum, “I wanted to ride the gondola with (Surname)-san.”

“Did you say something?” Reon asked, tilting his head.

It was clear the first year had thought out loud without wanting to, his ears bright red as he stumbled out words to string together a coherent sentence. The others brushed it off as him being his usual energetic self, not really giving it much thought.

“What rides do you wanna go on?” Yamagata turned towards Semi, showing him the map the lady at the entrance had given him, “I really wanna go to the drop down tower.”

“Oh! I was thinking of going there too! I’ve always wanted to know what it would feel like to just fall from up high like that.”

Goshiki looked at them horrified. Who would be curious of something like that? He shook his head and went back to gazing out the window, starting to understand why your eyes were glued to the trees.

The scenery was beautiful. Gigantic green trees emerged from the ground and curled around the rollercoaster. When the wind brushed through, the leaves rustled and if Goshiki strained his ears enough, he was actually able to hear it.

“Yeah, no. I wanna go to that ride where you get to play a game.” Kawanishi said.

“I wonder where the others want to go?” Goshiki kept his eyes on you as he talked, “Maybe we should form little groups…?”

The gondola was halfway across the park, having passed the drop town tower and now overlooking a building that had a gigantic kettle in the center of a pool, pouring out water into it.

Yamagata whistled impressed at the sight before he carried on the conversation, “Pretty sure Tendō will drag (Surname) and Ushijima to _Bandit_.”

Reon laughed heartily at that, fully agreeing with his friend. The three of you were never seen alone after all – wherever Tendō went, you and Ushijima never strayed too far. Whether that was by choice or coincidence or a forceful fate pushed onto you by a certain redhead- it didn’t really matter. Point was, none of you had a choice ever since the day you had befriended him.

Goshiki’s ears perked at that and he made a mental note to keep an eye out for your silhouette once all of you exited the gondola. There was no way he was going to miss out on his chance today. He wasn’t going to lose to Ushijima.

Not today.

And that’s how later on he found himself standing in line for the longest ride of Yomiuriland: _Bandit_. Tendō was hopping from one foot to the other, his face split in glee as he loudly recounted all of the details he had memorized before coming. Ushijima was listening to his every word patiently, nodding occasionally, whereas you watched the trains whiz by with an unreadable expression, your hand curling into a tiny fist.

This didn’t go unnoticed by the first year, who jumped at the very first chance to make an impression, “(Surname)-san, is everything okay?”

You gave him a tight smile and returned your eyes to the screaming people, “Yeah. It’s just… really fast… and has a lot of loops…”

“There is no need to worry, (Surname).” Ushijima said before Goshiki even had a chance to open his lips, “There hasn’t been any reported cases of deaths from this park, so we should be okay.”

You looked at him stupefied. Was that supposed to reassure you? No, actually, the real question should be: _How_ did he know this sort of thing? Knowing Ushijima, he probably straight up went to the poor girl on the counter and asked her if there had been any casualties on this ride.

“How do you know that, Wakatoshi-kun?” Tendō asked intrigued, no wonder just as baffled as you that he would say something like that. Blunt as he was, Ushijima wasn’t someone to talk about dark or gruesome things.

The boy in question pointed to the young staff sitting behind the counter, who flinched and hid behind a magazine when she noticed his action, and simply said, “I asked the lady working here if there had been any casualties on this ride.”

Goshiki watched you slap your palm across your forehead with a groan, his teeth gritting in his jaw, when his rival once again took your attention from him. He opened his mouth to retort something smart to show you that _he_ was the better one suited for you, but this time Tendō was the one to foil his plans. He whisked you all into the line, pushing you on your seats while thrusting a triumphant fist into the air.

“It’s our turn! Go go, let’s go, let’s go, into _Bandit!”_

ღღღ

“That… was fast.” Shirabu commented as he gazed at the empty spot, where mere minutes ago the four of you had still stood. He shook his head and turned around to take in his surroundings.

Little kids holding onto the hands of their parents as they excitedly walked from one food stand to the next, devouring the mini donuts they had been allowed to eat while recounting in a shrill voice the ride they had visited previously.

The sun illuminated the water inside the fountain that rested beside one of the buildings, the pitter patter drowned by the boisterous laughter of a college group of boys passing them. Reon, Semi and Yamagata were standing in front of a large map, trying to find out where they currently were.

“Ah, look.” Kawanishi pointed to the building right beside them, “There’s the _Fashion Factory_.”

“Eh? Really? Right here at the entrance?” Shirabu tilted his head back to peer at the symbol.

Indeed it read _Fashion Factory_. There was a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile on his face, but Semi caught on and mentioned with a raised brow, “Didn’t know you were into fashion, Shirabu.”

Shirabu gave him a look before he went on to explain, “There’s a spinning roller coaster inside. And apparently you have to play a game.”

Reon abandoned the map and turned to them to join in on their conversation, “A game? During a roller coaster ride?”

“Yeah.” Kawanishi nodded, “This ride is supposed to be one of the really good ones from this park.”

“I’m going to try it out now.” Shirabu said.

Kawanishi lifted his hand, “Me too. You guys wanna come with us?”

At that, the three third years exchanged a thoughtful look. Interactive roller coasters did sound really intriguing and it would’ve been a lie if they said Shirabu hadn’t gotten them curious now. But when they turned to the map to the dot, where they really wanted to go right now, they shook their heads in unison with a, “Maybe later.”

The two second years bid their goodbyes, promising to text each other to meet up for lunch together as they entered the building with an excited spring in their step. Once they were out of sight, the third years exchanged wide grins, counting out loud to three before they too raced to where the drop down tower was standing.

ღღღ

“I think I’m starting to regret this.” You muttered, your grip on the front seat belt deathly tight. Your jaw was clenched, your toes curled and you kept your eyes stubbornly ahead of you, refusing to glance down for even a second.

The train had left and slowly drove up the rails only to come to a complete stop at the highest part of the entire ride. It had been a few seconds and the train _still_ hadn’t moved from its spot. Tendō was sitting in front of you singing a made up song, his legs dangling from his seat as he leaned out as much as he could to appreciate the scenery.

Goshiki was beside him, his lips agape and eyes wide as he too took in the beauty of the forest green trees surrounding you, the woodsy scent of leaves and moss trailing through the air with every breeze whistling through you.

You gulped, the little thing in your chest pounding against your ribcage and grazing your skin as you thought about the 59 meters that separated you from the ground. You blinked. 59 meters of gut-wrenching screaming if you were to fall off the seat. Your nails dug into the fabric of the belt. 59 meters that- Hold on. What if you were flung sideways from the train and flew even farther than 59 meters?

“(Surname).” The steady and calm voice of Ushijima ripped you out of your daydreams of your self-proclaimed death scenarios. There was literally no emotion in the hues of his eyes. Still, like the ocean at sunrise.

“A-Ah, sorry. Don’t mind me, I’ll be fine.”

You saw him open his mouth to say something, but just then the train jolted forward and you cursed Tendō into seven different hells that he made you sit at the very front behind them. Your heart flopped into your stomach and back up your throat, and then against your lungs, down to the tips of your toes as the train looped and looped and shook and rattled.

Metal screeched against metal, the ecstatic screams of the passengers filling the whistling of the wind. Your hair flapped against your face, your lips pressed tight against each other as you felt the air getting knocked right out of your lungs. The leaves of the trees around you caressed you gently, as if a mocking gesture to downplay the fact that your stomach was holding its own circus show inside your body right now.

You could already imagine the people in the gondola passing you gesturing to you excitedly, naively believing this ride to be _fun_. How wrong they were.

Goshiki and Tendō cackled like mad, their hands in the air as they _“Whueeey!”_ ed and _“Yahoo!”_ ed _._ You kept your eyes scrunched, the rational part of your brain reminding you that these rides usually didn’t last long and that soon this would all be over. You’d get to buy yourself some ice cream and check out the other, much less aggressive rides.

But then the excited voice of Tendō from earlier on in the gondola surfaced in your head. _“The longest ride of the entire park, I have to ride this one!”_

You groaned internally, your fingers starting to lose feeling from the vice-like grip you had on your seat, but the ever-calm voice of Ushijima gave you the courage to open your eyes.

“(Surname).”

You glanced down to see his hand outstretched between you and instinctively, purely on adrenaline you held onto it, piercing the skin on the back of his hand with your nails, enough to almost draw blood. He merely turned his head back to face what was ahead of him, not even wincing when you squeezed even tighter at the next loop.

The train shook and rattled, but Ushijima remained still and steady like a tree- like the hundreds of trees around you, and somehow, being able to hold someone’s hand through this hell ride of a roller coaster gave you enough push to last through until the end.

ღღღ

Shirabu and Kawanishi walked through the narrow hallway of the building, their eyes wide and astonished at the sight they were greeted with. Rows and rows of gigantic books covered the walls, ginormous treasure chests stacked up on each other and huge buttons randomly hanging off the walls.

A small smile graced Shirabu’s features as he took in the odd decoration of the room, peeking inside the large cabinet to check if it was indeed empty and there just for show. It was.

“The guys are missing out. (Surname)-san would love this place.” Kawanishi brushed his fingers across the dozens of portraits hanging on the wall, tilting his head back slightly to take in the rainbow colored lights above him.

“Look.” Shirabu waved him over.

He showed him a screen that mirrored his pointing finger with a tiny camera peeking out. Kawanishi waved in front of him, watching the copy across from him do the same. He pulled a silly face, breaking out in childish laughter when the Kawanishi on the screen did the same.

Shirabu shook his head with a roll of his eyes, before pointing to several frames that had random people with peace signs in it. “I think you take your picture and have it fill those ones until the next person arrives and takes a new picture.”

“Woah! That’s pretty neat!” Kawanishi leaned closer to inspect the family of four smiling. He glanced at Shirabu from the corner of his eyes, asking hesitatingly, “You wanna take one too?”

Expecting the other to remain uninterested like he usually did when it came to these sort of things, he was visibly surprised and did a double take when he merely shrugged his shoulders and said, “Yeah. Why not?”

And so they took several pictures with all kinds of faces, Shirabu tight-lipped and serious, whereas Kawanishi puckered his lips and threw a peace sign above his head. The next one was with Shirabu raising a superior brow and Kawanishi sporting a thinking face. They spent the next ten minutes posing, their earlier reluctance replaced by the rush of fun they felt when their faces appeared in the frames all over the wall.

“Okay, that’s enough!” Kawanishi wheezed when he looked over the last picture they had taken: Shirabu was imitating Ushijima’s impassive expression and Kawanishi was plastering on the expression of Tendō whenever he talked about a new edition of _Jump_.

They took the stairs up into the starting line of the ride and seated themselves across from each other.

“Ready?” Kawanishi asked challengingly, hovering his hand on top of the little buzzer that was in front of him.

Shirabu returned the smirk and placed his hand directly on top of the button of his buzzer, “You bet I am.”

“Remember to press each time you spot our mascot. And at the end, there will be a little game that will determine how steady your descend will be.” The staff kindly reminded them as she buckled them in their seats. She sent them off with a wave and wished them fun on their ride.

Their car slowly spiraled its way up, colorful lights spraying from all corners, bathing them in a hue of rainbows. Kawanishi slammed his hand on the buzzer when the first white dog appeared on one of the couches hanging off the wall. He gave a triumphant yell, “Ha! Got one!”

In front of him, Shirabu remained quiet and focused, his eyes flitting from one corner to another as he craned his neck to fully take in his surroundings. With a haughty grin, he pressed the buzzer twice in a row, lifting his chin when he was faced with a shocked expression from Kawanishi, “Got two.”

“Tch. I won’t lose to you!”

“Ditto.”

They bickered back and forth in a friendly manner until they reached a dark area halfway to the top, the differently decorated rooms now no longer in sight, but instead illuminating the ground below them. They were replaced by a large screen stretching out, curling around the walls around them in a spiral; likewise to the direction they were ascending now.

_“Please remember that the amount of points you earn in this round will equal the amount of steadiness you achieve while you descend. Try to collect as many clothing items with our hero mascot-chan as you can. Good luck!”_

The voice of the announcer filled the room and they exchanged a look of youthful determination, their eyes glimmering at the challenge.

_‘Let’s do this.’_

The white dog came flying in from the corner of the screen, its cape flapping behind it and followed their vehicle as they went further up. Anytime the dog neared a cloud with a clothing item, Kawanishi screamed out in delight and pressed on the buzzer like mad to keep the mascot flying, stopping his motions to let him fall on the cloud to fall on the item and effectively catch it.

Across from him, Shirabu had a focused tongue poking out from his lips as he waited for his turn and silently collected a straw hat and a summer dress. He bobbed his head absentmindedly to the pop music blasting through the speakers, keeping his well-trained fingers ready to give the buzzer a light push whenever a cloud was in sight.

Kawanishi cursed and flailed around, cackling like mad when the distance between the clouds grew shorter and the levels became harder. Time was ticking and the end of the screen was in sight, so they redoubled their efforts for the last stretch, a light sheen of sweat covering their foreheads.

They simultaneously pulled back from the buzzer with a loud gasp, panting audibly when they realized just how much they had gotten into the game. 

The lights went out, plunging them into darkness as the music continued playing. Any second now they were about to be thrown off the other end, spinning their way back down – and depending on how many points they had been able to rack up in this little game of the ride, they would either have a spinning descent to the ground floor or they would have one hell of a wild ride.

They curled their hands around the seat belts and locked eyes.

“Ready?” Shirabu asked, a smug grin covering his face. He was confident he had gathered enough points to not empty the contents of his stomach after the ride was over.

Kawanishi showed his teeth and gums, all giddy and cheeky when he gave him a thumbs up, “I was born ready!”

And with that, neon lights whizzed past them as their vehicle spun and spun and _spun_ until their laughter was drowning out the bass of the song that was playing from above them. Their heads fell back and forth, a strong breeze thrusting through their hair as the world blurred into a colorful nebulae.

They could feel the adrenaline surging through their veins, their hands stretched out in the air to let the breeze pass through their fingers. Just as they were about to get used to the speed, the ride had already come to a halt with the staff from earlier waiting for them patiently.

She helped them out of the vehicle and they patted their wild hair down to tame the strands, their lungs breathless from the pressure of their descent. They turned towards each other to assess the other’s state.

Shirabu had a light flush across his cheeks, his forehead free from his bangs sticking wildly to all sides. His chest was rising and falling with a tiny smile tugging at his lips. Kawanishi looked similar to him, except that it wasn’t only his bangs that had lost their form – his entire hair seemed to not care about the concept of gravity.

It took only a second for their brains to click collectively and then they both snapped and pointed towards each other simultaneously in excited voices.

“That was awesome!”

Without further ado, they raced out of the exit line and zoomed straight into the entrance line again, throwing their bags haphazardly into the lockers. The very first thing they wanted to do before jumping on the ride again was to take a few more pictures to compare their earlier state from before to now.

This went on for at least another four rounds with Kawanishi and Shirabu snickering like school kids discovering an arcade for the first time in their lives. They sang to the song playing from the speakers and swayed to the lyrics as they aced their fourth round and spotted the dog mascot from every corner, collecting every single clothing article and having a walk in the park on their way down.

For the fifth round they decided to purposefully miss the mascot, eager to mix up the contents in their stomachs even more. And the ride certainly kept its promise – the ride back down was simply a way to rearrange their organs and they screamed what little bit of air was left in their lungs until they reached the ground once more.

The last picture Shirabu and Kawanishi took in the hallway of the _Fashion Factory_ still stood neatly against the wall long after they left the building with ditzy grins and wobbly steps.

Their hair was sticking out from all edges like a bird’s nest, but that didn’t take away from the absolute happiness the picture was radiating. They were beaming into the camera with their eyes curved into shimmering half-moons, a flush on both of their cheeks with their arms slung over their shoulders to pull the other into a friendly hug.

ღღღ

Their feet dangled off the seat and they held onto the seat belts with a thrill of anticipation. Semi bobbed his head and mouthed along to the song playing loudly from the speakers, the people in the seats beside them chattering excitedly.

Yamagata was to his right, shielding his face from the sun so he could fully observe the park on their way to the top. Reon was to his left, pointing to the large ride on the other side of the park, “There’s _Bandit_. Tendō and the others must be in one of those trains right now.”

“1000 yen that Tendō’s gonna pull them in for at least another round?” Semi chuckled.

They stopped at the highest point, overseeing the entire park in its glory, the people below them little blotches of colors. The song kept playing as the announcer was hyping up the crowd that had built on the ground, everyone eager to see them drop from the top.

“I oddly feel like I’m about to step on court.” Reon commented, which earned him a positive laugh from both Yamagata and Semi, who agreed with him.

Their stomachs felt light and queasy, a nervous excitement wrapping around their bones when they measured the distance to the ground. It was only human to have this much adrenaline flooding their blood when they thought that they were quite literally about to fall from the sky.

The countdown for the drop had started, but the three third years knew these rides well enough to know that they wouldn’t be spared the mercy of reaching the number zero.

So when the female voice coming from the speakers reached the number three, they opened their lips to release warrior cries, their stomachs flipping up to their chest, pushing all the breath out of their lungs. Harsh wind clapped their faces, their cheeks stretched back from the pressure as they fell and fell and _fell_ with cheers erupting from the crowd and the people around them.

Semi felt airy light, like all of the worries he carried with him during practice were whisked away with the breeze. He opened his eyes and felt them dry immediately, the little blobs of color beneath him starting to take shape and turn back into their human forms.

Yamagata laughed like he was free of all the responsibilities he had carried as the libero of a powerhouse, allowing his fingers to spread open and caress the gust of air blowing through them. He wished he could always stay in the air like this.

Reon kept one hand firm on the belt whereas his other was formed into a fist and thrust in the air, screaming out as if he was about to charge into battle. Right now, he wasn’t the vice-captain of the eagles. Right now, he didn’t have to think about his final exams looming closer. Right now, he was a bird taking flight to the ground, diving headfirst into his fears and swallowing them up.

Later when they unclenched the seat belts and lifted themselves up with wobbly legs and quivering stomachs, they took a second to assess each other’s state. Simultaneously, they high-fived each other and barked out laughter loud enough to draw the attention of a few passerby’s.

The day was only getting started.

ღღღ

After a few more hours of eventful rides for all groups, they decided to meet up for lunch. It took a good thirty minutes for all of them to find their way back to each other, but when they did, they spotted a table immediately.

“Lucky!” Tendō raced to it and plopped down on a seat, brushing a hand through his wild crimson locks.

They ate their meals like starved animals, the guys talking animatedly about their findings and the rides they had been on.

Shirabu and Kawanishi looked worse for wear, confessing that they’ve went on the same ride for about thirteen times until they were kindly asked to leave and explore the other things this park had to offer. Semi, Yamagata and Reon recounted their experience from a ride called _Momonga._

It was a ride where they could choose whether they wanted to sit or stand. It was no surprise when they mentioned that they had tried out both versions, a small fight ensuing when their opinions on which was better differed.

Semi had enjoyed sitting in the train cart a lot more, whereas Yamagata and Reon swore on feeling like they could fly when they stood during the ride. They didn’t stop their discussion until you cleared your throat and went on to recount your experience with _Bandit,_ swearing on whatever was dear to you that you would never step foot into a ride like that ever again.

This caused Tendō to break out in uproar. He didn’t understand how you couldn’t feel the same ecstasy he did when he was racing through the sky, nor did he comprehend why you refused to join them for round two and three.

This went on all the way until everyone was finished with their meals, with desserts and ice cream following. After your stomachs were full and content, you broke off in groups again. You still had a few more hours until you had to catch the train back home.

Tendō pulled Goshiki, Yamagata and Semi with him to the _Fashion Factory_ , the red-haired middle blocker eager to play this game their second years had kept gushing over. Goshiki followed with much reluctance, his eyes pleading you to join them, but you misunderstood his wish to have you join him and only kindly waved him goodbye.

You had been on enough wild rides for the day. You wanted to walk around and explore the park a bit more, possibly buy some snacks to take home for your parents. And when the sky turned a bit darker and the lights of the park turned on, allow yourself one last ride on the Ferris wheel.

And thus, Ushijima, Shirabu, Reon and Kawanishi accompanied you as you lazily walked through the park, occasionally stopping to watch the rides whiz past you. The second years dragged you to a stand that sold cotton candy and your eyes lit up, remembering the last time you had the sweet candy when you were still a child, clutching your father’s hand as you trailed around a summer festival.

With the stick of the fluffy cloud in one hand and the other tacky from eating it, you talked about everything and nothing; about the upcoming matches for nationals; about the upcoming exams for you third years. It was peaceful like it hadn’t been in a while, the absence of a certain troublemaker hanging heavy in the air.

Spending time like this with the guys every once in a while was nice, you had to admit. They were more than just guys hooked on volleyball, and it showed in their rosy cheeks and their bright grins when they recounted how awesome the rides were they had been on today and how much they didn’t want to go back home to their never-ending pile of homework and assignments.

You weren’t the only one, who needed this getaway for your mind, you realized. The guys needed it just as much as you, and the thought that you were able to take the pressure off of their minds for just a day was enough to bring a small smile to your face.

You stopped walking when you spotted a stand to your right, dozens of plushies hanging off the wall – ranging from small bunnies to large bears, from tiny dogs to twinkling unicorns. Your legs stepped forward on their own accord, bringing you closer to a certain white eagle. It was obvious why this one caught your attention – everything about it screamed _Shiratorizawa._

“Do you want it?” Ushijima asked from beside you and you blinked, surprised that he followed you. You glanced back to see the others continuing to walk, lost in their conversation and unaware that you were no longer with them. You looked back to Ushijima, who was waiting for your response.

Sometimes you wished you could read his mind, because right now you could absolutely not figure out his expression. You frowned and moved sideways to continue eyeing the plush doll before you mumbled, “These things are only a gimmick anyway… No one ever wins at these stands.”

“Oh, miss!” The young man behind the counter clapped his hands in joy when he spotted the two of you standing in front of him, “Is there something you like?”

Ushijima didn’t give you a chance to object, “Yes. She likes the white eagle.”

The booming voice of the guy filled the air with a touch of too much happiness, and you couldn’t help but cringe at his act, “Well then! It is up to the boyfriend to grant the wishes of the princess!”

“Ah- “ Your eyes grew wide as you immediately waved your hands in front of your chest, “No- It’s not like that- “

“What do you say, young man?” The guy raised a brow, fake-punching the counter with his fist, “Are you up for the challenge?”

At the mention of a challenge, something inside Ushijima’s eyes flashed and he took a heavy step forward, his face hard as he stated, “Yes.”

This was not what you had in mind when you stopped to inspect the soft toy, and this was so not going into the direction you wanted, so you gently grasped his arm and looked up to him, “Ushijima, it’s okay. Really. Let’s go back to the others. They must’ve noticed that we’re gone- “

“(Surname).” He said, keeping his eyes on the prize, “You want the white eagle, correct?”

“Well, I mean it’s cute and reminds me of our team, but- “

“Then I shall accept this challenge.”

Before you even had a chance to stop him or comprehend what was going on, he had already paid for a round and grabbed the small tennis ball on the counter. The owner smiled smugly, confident that this high schooler wouldn’t be able to topple all cans that were stacked neatly on top of each other in the back.

But what the owner didn’t know, was that this wasn’t just any ordinary high school student. This was Ushijima Wakatoshi – one of the top 3 aces in the volleyball world, Japan’s cannon and someone, who had _scary_ accuracy when it came to things like this.

You watched him smash the cans off the table with one swift throw, the force of it brutal enough to rattle and drop a few other cans that were sitting beside the ones he had aimed for. A small crowd of passerby’s stopped and dropped their mouths open in shock at the display. But their expression was nothing compared to that of the owner, who looked like he had just seen an elephant do a backflip.

He gulped, numbly taking down the plush toy to stretch it out to you. You gave him an apologetic smile and took it between your arms. Try as you might, you couldn’t fight the smile that took over your face when you held the beautiful bird against you, its soft wings tickling your bare arms.

Ushijima ignored the commotion around him and leaned down to inspect the toy closer. He tilted his head and said, “It looks like Coach Washijō.”

Now that comment got your head out of the gutter.

“Huh?” You held up the eagle and narrowed your eyes. Much to your horror, you could see the resemblance of the thick brows of the plushie with those of your demon coach. The absurdity of the situation brought forth a loud belly-laugh from you, the corner of Ushijima’s lips quirking in response.

“You’re right!” You wheezed as you turned it around to hold it out to him, “How about we name him Wacchan then?”

“Wacchan?” He asked, taking a moment to mull it over. He nodded. “Yes. Let’s name him Wacchan.”

ღღღ

“Woah… So pretty…” Your hands were pressed against the window of the Ferris wheel, your eyes glossy as you looked at the scenery on the ground.

The sun had set and dipped the sky in a mixture of dark blue and purple, allowing the lights from below you to shine brighter. The trees surrounding the park were littered with glistening lights: purple, green, red and pink shimmering beautifully in contrast to the rides that were covered in orange and yellow.

The entire park looked like a picture copy and pasted out of a children’s book, colorful and bright and stunning. It must have been pretty enough up close, but from up here on the highest part of the Ferris wheel, it looked absolutely mesmerizing.

Your little eagle friend sat next to you, between you and Goshiki, who was sitting awkwardly and shifting his gaze from you to the outside. Tendō and Ushijima were seated across from you, both of them just as focused on the beauty of the park as you were.

Conversations had died down as you all let the events of the day settle, your limbs starting to show the symptoms of exhaustion from playing around all day. Even Tendō wasn’t chatting anyone’s ear off anymore, his eyelids slightly heavy as he all but sighed happily every now and again.

It was quiet.

It was peaceful.

After a full day of screaming and squealing and adrenaline, this was nice.

You could get used to this.

You closed your eyes and breathed in, mentally patting yourself on the back for this wonderful idea. A small whimper from the left brought you out of your head, and you craned your neck to see Goshiki with a constipated expression, his cheeks flushed and lips in a tight line.

“Is everything okay, Goshiki?” You took Wacchan and placed him to your right, making room for you to scoot closer to the first year.

He leaned away and avoided your gaze, his grip on his stomach tightening – which was a first for someone, who seemingly always wanted your attention to be on him.

“Goshiki?” You asked again, this time a bit more concerned, your hand touching his shoulder lightly. Your brows raised when you realized he was shaking, “Are you cold? Do you not feel well?”

“Goshiki.” Ushijima’s steady voice rumbled out of his chest, his brows slightly furrowed, “How many rides did you go on today?”

A light bulb went off in your head.

Everything seemed to happen at once.

Goshiki’s hand flew to his mouth, his eyes bulging from their sockets.

Tendō raised a brow and cocked his head.

Ushijima reached for his backpack.

And you.

You had the brilliant idea of turning his cheek to check his temperature.

What you didn’t expect however, was for Goshiki to start heaving, his hand losing its leverage on his mouth. You raised your hands instinctively in the air, clenching your eyes shut and holding your breath.

Quiet?

Peaceful?

Getting used to it?

You spoke too soon.

You spoke way too fucking soon.

ღღღ

_**BONUS:** _

“Do you want me to give you a plastic bag for your clothes?”

Ushijima asked from outside the toilet stall and you hesitated, taking a moment to recollect yourself before you meekly responded, “That would be very helpful, yes.”

You opened the door just slightly enough for him to stretch the bag inside and you snatched it from him with a frown, slamming the door closed again. Who would’ve thought that the day would come in which Ushijima being prepared for the apocalypse would come in handy? Who even carried a second set of clothing with them everywhere they went?

You looked down at yourself, your torso drowning in the long fabric of the too big t-shirt, the overly large shorts sliding off your hips whenever you moved. As you thought about how to solve this problem, you decided to just go to hell with it and leaned closer to the door again.

“Ushijima? Do you… Do you happen to have a hair-tie with you?”

You were already preparing yourself for a negative answer, but were positively stunned when you saw his hand from above the stall holding a black tie towards you. _‘Wow… Talk about well-prepared.’_

“Thank you! You’re a lifesaver!” On tiptoes, you reached the tie and pooled the fabric of the shorts around your hip bone, tying it together in a knot with the hair-tie.

You moved back and forth in the little space available to you and huffed satisfied when the shorts stayed on. After that was dealt with, you pinched the now wet clothing articles with the protective barrier of toilet paper and stuffed it into the plastic bag.

Ushijima had been patient enough to wait outside as you had washed them with soap to get rid of the smell. When you stepped out of the stall with your bag in tow, he traveled his eyes from your head to your toes and then back up to your face, giving a small nod.

You rubbed your forearm and shuffled your foot on the ground, “Thank you for the spare clothes… I really didn’t want to walk around with all that on me.”

“He seems to be doing better now. They gave him some water and washed his face.”

“Well I’m glad at least about that much… How long do you think it’ll take for him to be able to look me in the face again?”

His lips actually quirked at that, an amused smile settling on his features – not that anyone, who didn’t know him well enough to distinguish between his facial expressions, would ever notice. “He cried after you left to wash yourself.”

“Oh no.” You drawled, your face falling in sympathy, “He must feel terrible…”

“It seems as though Tendō made him ride the _Fashion Factory_ at least three times in a row.”

“It’s always Tendō!” You threw your hands up in the air exasperatedly. How come all trouble always lead back to him?

“Ah.” Ushijima stopped in his tracks, effectively halting you with him. Your rant was forgotten as he sifted through his bag.

You tilted your head curiously, swinging the bag in your hand as you waited for him to fish out whatever he was looking for. He pulled out something white and fluffy, your eyes flashing in recognition as you dove forward to rip it out of his hands.

“Wacchan! He was with you!”

“Yes.”

“I totally thought I forgot him up there! I was so bummed out about it…”

“No. Wacchan was with me.”

“Gosh, you really are a hero today, aren’t you, Ushijima?” You shot him a cheeky grin and turned the white eagle around, using your hand from behind it to move its wings in a waving motion, “Thank you for keeping me safe, Ushijima-san.”

Leave it to Ushijima Wakatoshi to answer seriously to someone ventriloquizing with a stuffed eagle.

“You are welcome. It is thanks to (Surname) that we got to meet today.”

You couldn’t suppress the giggle from bubbling out of your chest like freshly popped soda, surprised to hear a very light chuckle of his own.

Ushijima just laughed?

The guys were never going to believe you.

“(Surname).” He called out to you, effectively catching your attention once more.

You pressed Wacchan closer to your chest and craned your neck to meet his gaze, “Yes?”

“Thank you for today. I quite enjoyed myself.”

Your eyes softened and you smiled at him, “You’re welcome, Ushijima.”

**Author's Note:**

> Yomiuriland is Tokyo's largest amusement park and it looks soooooo beautiful at night! I urge you to check out a few videos/ pictures online. Writing this chapter really made me wanna go there .___.  
> The park is "only" three hours away from Sendai with the train, so I figured if they had the chance to get away for one whole day to enjoy themselves, surely they would take it?  
> All the rides mentioned in this chapter are actual rides that exist in the park, so I take no credit for creating cool-ass roller coasters, because that's not on me. Bigger brains were behind the concept of [_the Fashion Factory_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tW1AplEpTm0).  
> This is definitely one of my longer pieces up to date and if it wasn't for my fear of going beyond the scope, I probably easily would've crossed the 10k line. There's just something about amusement parks and a chaotic group of teenagers that makes my fingers itch to write and write and write.
> 
> Shoutout to [Wacchan](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/cb/28/62/cb286268d22de3537a005708227e064c.jpg).


End file.
